Amsterdam, 12th March 2021 - WeTransfer has joined with 60 other firms across Europe to push for stronger corporate governance procedures to reflect the need to balance people and planet with profit.
B Lab Europe, representing certified B Corporations across the continent, together with 60 individual B Corp firms including WeTransfer, has responded to the EU Commission’s consultation on sustainable corporate governance to call for new, more robust rules. Other B Corp signatories include confectionery firm Tony’s Chocolonely, software developer NetGuru and start-up incubator Impact Hub.
This would include requiring company directors to consider the interests of all those who contribute to business success including employers, suppliers, consumers, local communities and the environment, as well as investors.
This will support the EU in meeting its target of achieving climate neutrality by 2050, as well as providing a framework for business to help address social inequalities, the consultation response argues.
WeTransfer was certified as a B Corporation in June 2020, joining brands such as Patagonia, Allbirds and Ben & Jerry’s, measuring and approving its performance against five impact areas: governance, workers, community, environment and customers. Last month, WeTransfer announced that it has achieved climate neutrality across its operations.
As part of the B Corp Climate Collective, WeTransfer works actively with other like-minded firms from different sectors towards shared goals and ambitions through that forum.
Martha Lane Fox, WeTransfer Chair, comments:
“Most company directors would choose to run their organisations for the benefit of all stakeholders, not just shareholders. However, the market structures do not unequivocally encourage, or even allow for such considerations. To change the behaviour and the impact that companies create, it is high time to change the rules under which they operate. We no longer have time to wait.“
About WeTransfer
Having made its name in the game of quick and simple file-sharing, WeTransfer has grown into a collection of tools designed for and inspired by the creative process. Collect is the go-to app 4M people turn to for saving and sharing inspiration. Paste® is the collaborative presentation tool of choice for over 40,000 fast-moving teams. Paper® helps 30M minds sketch, paint, and draw on iOS. And of course there’s the original file-sharing platform, where 60 million people send over 1.5 billion files every month. Around 75% of WeTransfer users identify as creatives, and its this global community the company exists to celebrate and inspire on WePresent, WeTransfer’s editorial platform.
As a certified B Corporation WeTransfer strives to use business as a force for good. Since the beginning WeTransfer has donated up to 30% of advertising real estate to raise awareness for artists, creative work, and the world’s most pressing issues such as climate change and gun control. This amounts to more than $300 million to date and has led to partnerships with artists and organizations like Björk, FKA twigs, Ryan McGinley, Solange Knowles, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, and the UN Development Program.